Life and Times of William Shakespeare During the Renaissance

Life and Times of William Shakespeare During the Renaissance - Page Text Content

FC: The Life and Times of William Shakespeare During the Renaissance | By Ariel Coonin

1: Essential Question: How does the Renaissance influence literature and history? | The Renaissance influenced literature and history because it was a time of prosper and celebration of the arts. It was a time in which artists and scholars were highly celebrated and men were expected to not only be strong and support the family, but to be a poet and a scholar. This influenced history because many great achievements occurred during this time. These achievements have shaped history and life as we know it.

2: There were many similarities between the Italian and Elizabethan English Renaissance. In fact, it was the Italian Renaissance that influenced the English Renaissance so that caused many similarities. One similarity is that both renaissances celebrated humanism, which is the celebration of the human individual. Another similarity is that both celebrated the arts. These similarities occurred because both renaissances were a time of prosper and could be considered a golden age. During a golden age many achievements occur in many categories, especially the arts. Since it is a time of peace, people do not have to worry about military and can begin to express themselves. This is why there are many similarities between the two renaissances. | Similarities

3: There were also many differences between the Italian Renaissance and the Elizabethan English Renaissance. In Italy, mainly artists were honored. From this many well-known paintings and art pieces were created. In addition to new artwork there was also new art techniques. This was the first time after the Middle Ages in which people were the subjects of paintings instead of just religious idols such as angels. In Elizabethan England, the playwrights were honored and other things dealing with literature such a poetry. Plays were honored the most because Queen Elizabeth very much enjoyed plays and gave money to support them. This was a time when there was peace in the country so people were able to take time out of their days to go see plays. In addition to similarities there were also many differences between the renaissances. | Differences

4: William Shakespeare | 4/23/1564 - 4/23/1616

5: My Life | William Shakespeare was born in Stratford Upon Avon, England. It was a rural, country place outside of London. He was born into a pretty wealthy family because his father was a glove maker that made a good living and was in the city council. This allowed Shakespeare to get an education because at this time only the wealthy could pay for school.

6: Shakespeare grew up catholic, as it is evident by his grandfather's will, even during a time when the national religion was constantly changing. Since religion was controlled by the government, anytime a new queen or king would come to power the religion would change. Shakespeare's family were dedicated Catholics and did not want to change their religion just because the government decided so. Shakespeare's father quit the council and began writing books that taught Catholic beliefs in secret. This caused him to start to lose money and William Shakespeare had to drop out of school at age 14.

7: When he got older, he married a woman named Anne Hathaway. Shakespeare did not want to marry her but was obligated to because he had gotten her pregnant out of wedlock. They got married and had three children that he ended up deserting.

8: My Career | Shakespeare started his career with a dream of becoming an actor. He deserted his family and moved to London to pursue his career. At this time in England, only men were allowed to be actors so men played both male and female roles. Later in his career he became a famous playwright and poet, writing 37 plays and 157 sonnets (poems).

9: Shakespeare was originally part of a play group called The Chamberlain's Men. This group later changed its name to The King's Men to honor the new king, James the First.

10: The King's Men needed a venue to perform their plays in so that they could compete with other play groups. All the members split the price of a plot of land that they used to build a huge theatre. The theatre was named the Globe Theatre and is known for its architectural excellence. It was able to accommodate 1500 to 3000 viewers because the viewers had to stand the entire play. To make sure that viewers would stay to watch the whole play, Shakespeare wrote a brief summary of what would occur in the play to draw the audience's attention. Shakespeare became very successful and is remembered to this day.

11: The Language of My Time | Shakespeare wrote his plays in Early Modern English, but this was not how the people spoke at this time. Shakespeare used shortened forms of words and rhymed most things.